Time Well Spent
by ATrueBlueSky
Summary: Matilda "Matty" Grove never expected anything but a normal life. But when a boy named Collin takes a sudden interest in her, her life takes a turn for the interesting. COLLINxOC Because for Collin, every moment spent with her is time well spent. SUSPENDED
1. He Stared At Me Funny

A/N: Well hello! I'll be pretty brief here. This is the story of Collin and his imprint Matilda "Call-me-Matty." I'm taking it slow here though, hope you don't mind. Updates will be a little slow for a while, since I'm working a lot on graduation right now (eek!). But I really wanted to post this, so here it is.

Oh, and the title of the story comes from Tom Felton's song, 'Time Well Spent.' Watch it on YouTube. It's sexy. ;D The first one is the best, the second one is kinda 'ehhh,' and the third and fourth are alright.

--

_The clocks ticking but I don't mind_

_Because there's no one else I'd rather share my time_

_And I've no idea where those weeks gone when_

_Yet I know that it's time well spent_

(From_ "Time Well Spent" _by Tom Felton)

_--_

PREMISE: Normality

I never asked for anything but a normal life. And I had a perfectly normal life, too. I went to work, read, surfed the net, hung with friends, was going to college in a little while, and had a great relationship with my boyfriend. Life was good. Okay, yes, sometimes I wished that my life could be more like the books that littered my floor and shelves at home. A dashing prince, magic spells, adventure… But I didn't REALLY wish for it. Just an errant thought, you know? I knew there was no way it could actually happen.

Or at least, I thought it couldn't.

Yet here I am, shaking like a leaf, planted on my butt, trying not to scream and on the verge of fainting as all hell breaks loose in front of me in the form of two ravenous mythical monsters fighting over who gets to eat me.

My life used to be normal.

--

CHAPTER ONE: He Stared at Me Funny

"Matty! Would you mind taking register for me for a few minutes? I gotta pee!"

I rolled my eyes at my shameless friend, Tina, but still smiled a little. "Yeah, I got it." I said as I finished putting the last copy of 'Where the Wild Things Are,' on the display table.

Tina grinned and with a quick "Thanks!" brushed past me and towards the restroom at the back of 'Loose Pages,' the bookstore we worked at. I quickly took her spot at the counter, not that the speed was needed. There was, as usual, no one around. We weren't exactly the biggest bookstore in Port Angeles. Not to mention it was a Tuesday morning in the middle of June. Why on earth would anyone come to a bookstore on a Tuesday morning in the middle of June? Well, besides me. I would, because I'm a book nerd that way. I loved working here, since most of the time Tina ran the register and when I was done putting books away I could sneak reading a few chapters of the latest hit.

A couple minutes passed, and there was no sign of Tina.

Five minutes.

Ten.

Where the heck was she?! I glared in the general direction of the back of the store. She was probably talking on the phone with her boyfriend, Tim. I grinned a little. It was so dorky- Tina and Tim. The cheerleader and the soccer player. How cliché could you get? But they really seemed to honestly like each other, so I guess it was okay. Plus she'd actually managed to stay with him for three weeks; a new personal record for Tina.

I probably shouldn't be one to talk though. I'd never even been asked out on a date before, let alone had a boyfriend for any length of time. I mean, come _on_. Who would want to date _me?_ I was short, thin, flat as a board, and wore big glasses. Yeah, I'm sooo sure the guys are lining up for a piece of this. Please take note of the sarcasm.

After another minute I was seriously considering Sparta-kicking her stall door down, but then two boys came in. Well, not really boys, they looked to hot for that, and too old.

They were very similar looking (probably brothers), with tan skin, short black hair, dark eyes, lean yet ripped build, and 6 feet of height to their name. They were clearly Native American, and probably from one of the local reservations.

If I was a normal girl like Tina, I could have flirted with them when they came to the counter. If I was normal, I would be able to smile and flutter my eyelashes or whatever the heck other girls do to get a guys attention. But I'm not a normal girl- I have chronic boy shyness syndrome. No, it isn't real. Tina made it up and insists I've got a horrid, yet curable case of it. (I think she's got a case of psychosis, but that's not the point.) Whenever I try and talk to a guy, I just kind of… Freeze up. My face gets all red and I can't make my mouth cooperate with what my brain wants to say. It's horrible really. I mean, in my head I'm acting normal. When there isn't a guy right in front of me I'm normal. But the second they get too close it's like a trigger goes off in my brain that's labeled "ANTI-COMMUNICATIONS/PRE-CRAZY CAT LADY MISSION STAGE ONE" gets flipped.

Snapping myself back to reality, I watched as the two browsed through the shelves, snickering at some of the weirder titles and cover art. I tried not to roll my eyes at their behavior. I half hopped that they would stay a while though. I don't have to talk to someone to appreciate the eye candy.

Alas, twas not meant to be. Within another couple minutes the boys were walking towards the register, laughing and shoving each other as they came, one of them holding a book in his hands. The other one stopped walking when they passed the door and stood there, waiting for his friend with the book.

The book holding boy looked over his shoulder to continue the conversation they were having.

"- it's totally nuts that they assign us a book for the summer reading that we have to go all the way out to Port Angeles to buy. I mean how ridiculous can you get?" Laughing, he turned around to face me.

And froze.

His eyes went wide and he nearly dropped the book in his hands. That infamous blush of mine flared up, turning my cheeks and ears a bright red. I mean, okay, I'm not a model, but I'm not exactly ugly either. But the way he was staring at me! It was like… It was like he'd just witnessed a miracle. Like he'd been blind all his life and could suddenly see again, and I was the first thing he'd ever looked at. Like I was something amazing and beautiful.

Most girls would take it as a compliment. It just made me squirm with embarrassment. He made me feel so exposed. Like I had just laid out all my cards on the table for the whole world to see. I wish he would stop staring at me! This was beyond freaky. Boys don't stare at me, or look at me. Ever. And here is an insanely hot boy staring at me like I'm the center of his universe!

He blinked, and suddenly seemed to come back to something that might have been related to normal behavior. He smiled at me, revealing a small dimple on one of his cheeks, the happiness from his smiles reaching his dark eyes. He closed the yard gap between us and put the book he was holding on the counter for me to scan. I picked it up and frowned. "The Iliad." I had nothing against the book, but he seemed too old to be assigned this for summer reading. Then again, he could just be younger then his looks. I quickly scanned the book.

"That'll be $11.95," I said, my voice wavering a little. Uck. I wanted to smack myself for going all timid. So very not me (although apparently it was VERY me, since I _was_ being timid).

He nodded, still staring at me, and reached in his pocket for some money. He scowled and looked over his shoulder to talk to his friend.

"Hey Brady, I forgot my money! Can I borrow some?" he asked. His voice carried well with its deep tones. Brady (or so I assumed) rolled his eyes but tossed a black wallet to his friend. The boy turned back and gave me the money, and I in turn handed him the change and bagged his book, receipt tucked in the middle of the book. Without a word I slid the bag towards him, praying he would leave so I could act normal again.

Did I mention I have bad luck?

"So… Do you like working here?" he asked as he took the plastic bag with the large smiley face on it. I gapped at him a little. What kind of question was that?

"Uh…" I said, feeling very intelligent. "I-I um… Yeah." My blush, once fading, came back full force. 'Leave! Leave already!' my brain cried. Still no luck.

"My name is Collin," he said with a large grin. "I live up at the Quileute reservation." There was a pause, and then I realized from his expression that he expected me to introduce myself as well.

"Matilda… But call me Matty." I said. I couldn't look at him as I said this though. Ack, ack, ack! Why wasn't he leaving? This was so confusing!

"That's a really nice name." He told me, beaming.

"Uh… Thanks?" What was I supposed to say? 'Well I think it sounds like a grandma name?' Yeah- how about _not_. Why do you think I had people call me Matty? Even if it does sound like a guys name, it's better then Matilda. Although I did love that movie…

His grin, if at all possible, grew wider. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Brady had chosen this moment to approach his friend to find out why they weren't leaving. Brady threw me a confused look (insert more blush here please) before grabbing Collin's shoulder and turning him so Brady could see Collin's face. Collin didn't take his eyes off me.

Creepy.

Brady looked between Collin and me, a look of understanding dawning on his face. This look then turned into a look of amusement and slight annoyance. Annoyance at his friend, or annoyance at me? It was hard to tell.

"Collin?" Brady shook his friend's shoulder a little to get his attention. "Collin, we have to go. I have to babysit my little sister, remember?" Collin blinked and finally looked at Brady.

"Oh, right." Collin nodded, looking like he had just woken up as opposed to turning around. He glanced at me and then back at Brady. "Okay." They turned and started to leave, and I felt myself sag with relief. Eye candy or no, the weirdness about this entire encounter was too much for one boy-shy girl to handle!

Just as they reached the door, Collin turned to face me and with a bright smile called out: "See you tomorrow!"

I froze. He would be coming… Back?

I didn't really notice when Tina came bustling back a few moments later, blabbering on about how Tim had called her but then she dropped her phone and couldn't get it to work and blah blah blah. I was too busy trying to get my brain to function again to listen properly.

Tina finally realized that I wasn't all there and touched my arm, causing me to jump a little.

"Hey, are you okay? Did something happen while I was gone? What was it?" she asked, a small crease appearing between her brows.

"I… I have no idea." I told her honestly.


	2. He Acts Kinda Weird

A/N: AHAHAHAHA! 3 Oh man, I can't believe I've already gotten so many reviews and alerts and favs and EEE!! -insert happy fangirl squealing- Love you guys. SO MUCH. Originally I wasn't going to update this chapter until Sunday, but you guys made me so dang happy, so you get it two days early. Kind of a short chapter, sorry about that. And the lyrics don't match up very well with the chapter. –le sigh- ANYWAYS. Without further ado, I give you chapter two!

--

_It's been, it's been, it's been, it's been_

_Su-su-such a long time, long time, long time_

_Since anybody touched me, touched me, touched me_

_The way that you touch me._

_So if I stutter, stutter, stutter_

_And I feel so-so-so unsexy_

_So maybe I'll just keep my mouth shut- at least until you kiss me._

(From "_Stuttering_" by Ben's Brother)

--

CHAPTER TWO: He Acts Kinda Weird

I begged Tina to take my turn at register the next day. If I was working in the back room or just putting books back I would easily be able to avoid that Collin kid if he were to come back like he'd said he would. Eventually Tina agreed, much to my relief, and we set about to our respective duties.

A few customers drifted in and out during the day, occasionally buying books and sometimes not. One red-haired girl spent an hour putting books she wanted into a pile. 17 books to be exact. Apparently she'd gotten some birthday money or something, because they weren't cheap.

But I digress. My job and the customer's reading habits aren't the point of this story.

It was around 5 and I was feeling hopeful that maybe he wouldn't come after all, and that he had just been saying it to say it. I mean, why _would_ he?

I was shelving some books at the time, humming "Come Fly With Me," occasionally singing a few lines out loud.

"_Weather wise it's such a lovely day_," I warbled, knowing that no one would hear me in the secluded children's section. Or so I thought. "_Just say the word and we'll beat the birds down to-"_

"You have a nice voice," interrupted a deep voice from behind me. Surprised, I uttered a tiny yelp and jumped, dropping all of the books I had stacked in my arms. I put my hand over my heart and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself. I started to turn.

"You startled me-" I said, and froze. There, kneeling down and scooping up the books was the guy from yesterday. I stared at him with wide eyes, gaping like a goldfish. He'd come back. And he'd found me. I felt the blush creep up. Again. Curses.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have surprised you like that! It's my fault, I'm really, really sorry!" he was saying as he picked up the last of the books. He straightened and handed the books to me, and abashed look on his face. I just nodded and took the books from him, holding them close to my chest like some kind of literary shield. The pen is mightier then the sword, after all. You know, if the sword is plastic and you stab your enemy in the eye with said pen.

Moving on.

Collin stood there, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. I stared at him, unsure of what to do. He was only a couple feet away, and it would feel weird to just turn my back on him to put the books away. A minute passed.

"Was there something you needed?" I blurted out. I was desperate. I wanted him to go _away_. Honestly, just being around him made my stomach lurch and my face flush so much more. I didn't like feeling this vulnerable AT ALL.

"Yes, actually… I was uh… Looking for a book." He was _so_ making that up on the spot. I'm normally pretty oblivious to stuff like that, but this was so obvious it almost made me feel bad for his bad lying skills. But I just nodded and put the books down. No one came back here anyways, I'd finish that later. Besides, the sooner that he left, the better for my sanity.

"What book?" I asked.

"Umm. I dunno. Just a book." He shrugged. My eye twitched.

"Well, what _kind_ of book? Fantasy, sports, sci-fi, action…?" I let my voice trail off. Huh. Apparently irritation overrides shyness, since my blush was fading and my voice wasn't shaking. Score for me!

"What would _you_ recommend?" he asked. Was he serious? He didn't even know what kind of book he wanted? This guy was just weird, weird, weird.

Still, I seriously considered his question. He was a customer, like it or not, and it was my job to help him. You can tell a lot from a person by their looks, so I gave him a once over to try and figure out his personality, and therefore general book type.

He was tall- obviously- and well muscled. Athletic type no doubt. He was dressed in a simple outfit- cutoff shorts and a T-shirt with an unfamiliar band name on it. He kept his short, which meant he probably either didn't like a hassle or brushing a lot it or he didn't like it in his face. High cheekbones and dark eyes accented his features. I couldn't help but stare at his eyes a little. They were a dark brown, almost black, like liquid. Like ink. Did I mention I enjoy calligraphy? Ink pot and fancy pen included?

He raised his eyebrows, his lips twitching. My blush flared. He probably thought I was checking him out. Which I _so_ wasn't. And by wasn't I mean heck yes I was.

Okay, so yes I thought he was a bit creepy. But he_ was_ good looking. You know, because _apparently_ I'm shallow enough to fall for a guy just because I thought he looked like some human Adonis or something, regardless of any stalker like tendencies he may or may not have.

Not that he HAD actually stalked me. He hadn't. He'd just made me feel awkward when he stared at me and had come back to see me. Which, now that I thought about it, usually meant that a guy liked a girl. As in me.

Oh.

Well, I might be reading the signs wrong. Like I said, there really wasn't much of a reason for him to take such a sudden, random interest in me anyways.

"You still alive in there?" Collin asked with a chuckle, breaking me from my thoughts. Right. Book for Collin. Yes. I'd get a book for Collin, and then he'd leave and the world could make sense again. I was pleased with that concept.

"Godless." I told him. "By Pete Hautman. It's over there," and I gestured with my head the area that it was in. Without another word I stepped around him, trying very hard not to take note of the fact that our arms brushed when I passed (very, very hard. A temperature like his is hard to ignore). I didn't hear him following me as I led him to the aisle, but when I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye he was there, following me. He didn't make a sound! Jeez! No wonder he had been able to sneak up on me.

It only took me a moment to pluck the book from its spot on the shelf and hand it to Collin. I expected a "thanks," and then he would turn around and go, leaving nothing but an odd mystery about his behavior, but one I could ignore. I never was one for mysteries.

But he didn't.

Instead he just stood there, grinning, and completely blocking off my only exit from the aisle. And we just kept on standing there, saying nothing. Him grinning at me, and me doing an excellent imitation of a statue of a teenage girl staring at her feet.

"I should uh… Get back to work." I said finally. What is with this guy and the random silences?

"Oh! Right! Sorry. Didn't mean to keep you." He shuffled off to the side and I squeezed past him. He smiled at me again before walking over to the register where Tina sat. Now SHE was staring at me. What is with people and staring anyways? She smirked over Collin's shoulder when he wasn't looking, and she winked at me.

_Lovely_. Now Tina probably thought Collin was my secret boyfriend or something. She was always trying to hook me up with someone, but I always avoided her attempts. I knew that there was no way I could dodge her questioning this time though. I groaned to myself. This was not going to be a fun week.

The bell chimed as Collin opened the door to leave, and once again he looked over his shoulder at me and called out, "See you tomorrow!"

I frowned at the door. What was with this kid?


	3. Won't Discover That It's Him

A/N: Wow. Where the heck did June go? D: I could have sworn it was just beginning… Anyways, sorry for the late update. I've been having a lot of issues editing this chapter, and it hasn't really helped that my life is crazy right now. I graduated high school, had to deal with all of the parties and announcements and blah blah blah, got a job, began to clean my room, got my classes for September all set up… It's been a nightmare really. I'd by lying if I said I was totally pleased with how this came out, but I really don't think I can delay posting it for much longer. So here- have some chapter three.

Oh, and thank you so much for all of the reviews and alerts and favorites! Getting those just makes my world go round! 8D

--

_Oh, isn't this amazing?_

_It's my favorite part because you'll see_

_Here's where she meets Prince Charming_

_But she won't discover that it's him, 'til chapter three_

_(_From _"Belle_" from Beauty and the Beast)

--

CHAPTER THREE: Won't Discover That It's Him

I was right in thinking that Tina would be on my case like peanut butter on the roof of a mouth. She wouldn't shut up about him- how good looking he was, and how he seemed 'soooooo nice,' and wasn't he just the sweetest thing with all of those sideways glances? And how long had I been keeping him from her anyways and blah blah blah.

I won't bore you with the details, I'm sure you get the picture. I eventually got her off my back for the most part, telling her that he had just started coming the other day and for some reason liked to talk to me. It was no big deal, and he was not my secret boyfriend and in truth I found his odd desire to come see me a little creepy.

She of course thought it was sweet and romantic, and she got that steely look in her eye that meant only one thing for me: Trouble with a capitol T, and that rhymes with P, and that stands for Pool. Only this was way worse then any River City trouble with traveling salesmen, my friends. This was far, _far_ worse.

I was supposed to have Thursday off, and felt relieved at the thought of a day to myself. Sleep in, watch some movies, maybe get a little bit of knitting done for my cousins's birthday present-hat-lump-thing… It was gonna be a good day.

That is, until my boss called me and said that Tina had called in sick and needed me to fill in for her.

Tina hasn't been sick since she was 9 and got a cold that lasted a grand total of two days.

The traitor.

She was only doing this because she wanted me to talk to Collin. I think she thought that he was attracted to me or something. HA! As if. I'd come to the conclusion the night before that my previous thoughts of him maybe liking me were silly and nothing more then wishful thinking. Because even though he was weird, the thought of someone liking me was… Kinda nice. But in any case, I was stuck talking to him. That is, assuming he came.

So I went to work, only to find that Wendy had decided that I would be on register today, and that she would be shelving books and the like.

Double traitor. She was also friends with Tina, and I knew it wouldn't take much for Tina to talk Wendy into her fiendish plan. Oh was I ever going to get them back!

I spent most of the dull, slow morning planning my revenge, occasionally doing my job whenever someone actually came up to the counter. Most of my plans involved a squirt gun, telemarketers, and Silly-Stringing the inside of Tina's car. Yeah, it was a pretty good plan.

Halfway through a new plot involving rabid squirrel monkeys I saw him come in and ducked my head, hoping he wouldn't notice me and that he'd look for me in the aisles. Wendy was in the back room, so she couldn't do anything like tell him where I was. Maybe I'd get lucky.

Or maybe he'd walk right over here and start talking to me.

Tina was a dead woman walking.

"Hi!" he said, far too cheery for a Thursday morning. How early had he gotten up anyways? I mean, it wasn't like the reservation was just around the corner or anything. He had to have gotten up early to get here, and since he was alone, it was probably by bus which takes forever and a half. And it was only 10:30. In the _morning_. If I had my way, I would still be asleep right now. Not to mention I wasn't feeling that great. I didn't have time for breakfast this morning (thank you _so much_, Tina), and my body doesn't handle a lack of meals well. I don't eat a whole lot, so that's probably why I get into such a funk whenever I skimp out.

"Hey," I muttered, not looking him in the eye. He furrowed his brows, looking worried.

"Is something the matter?" he asked. He seemed… Genuinely concerned for me. And oddly able to tell that I wasn't feeling well after just a moment. It was kinda nice. I just shrugged in answer.

"I'm okay," I said, still muttering more then talking. I was surprised though- my face wasn't heating up from my blush like it usually did. Only the tips of my ears felt warm. Maybe I was getting used to him? Could that happen? I'd never hung around a guy long enough to find out. I shuddered. I didn't want to get used to this weirdo!

Well apparently he took my shudder for a shiver, because he put his hand on my forehead, checking for a temperature. Not that he could tell- his hand was so hot! He must have been the one running a fever- there's no way that was natural. My blush flared up again. So much for getting used to him. He reluctantly pulled his hand away.

"You don't feel like you have a fever. Are you cold? I have a jacket you could borrow." He said this all in a rush, still sounding really worried. Like he really cared.

But why? He barely knew me.

I shook my head. "It's nothing. Just hungry." He nodded at me, looking a bit relieved, but still mostly worried.

"If you want, I could go grab you something to eat. I saw a bakery around the corner; I could snag you a doughnut or something. Or there was 7/11, so I could get you some poptarts, or granola bars, or-" I held up a hand to stop his tirade.

"It's no big deal, really. My lunch break is in a little while anyways." If 2 and a half hours counted as a little while.

He actually looked mad now. "It _is_ a big deal. It's not healthy to skip meals. I'll go pick something up for you." The look in his eyes told me it would be a bad idea to say no, so I nodded.

"Just a glazed doughnut would be fine," I told him. "And some milk." I reached into my wallet to give him some money, wondering why on earth I was doing this, why I was letting him get me food, why I would trust him with my precious Abraham Lincoln- but Collin was already out the door. Huh. He sure does move fast.

No one else was in the store, so I had a little bit of time to think about some things. Like, what the heck was up with that Collin kid. It wasn't exactly like there was much else to do. Plus, his actions confused me and I wanted to figure him out. So I drew up some mental facts to try and help make things clear to myself.

He had come to see me for the past three days in a row

He liked to stare at me

May or may not have creeper/stalker tendencies

He wasn't much of a reader (judging from the fact that he didn't have a favorite genre)

He enjoyed running to the store to buy people food

Tina seemed to like him, and she had good taste

I frowned. Maybe… Maybe I was over reacting. Maybe he wasn't a creeper all. I mean… Maybe he just wanted to be my friend. Now that I was really considering it, he hadn't done anything wrong at all, besides that first intense stare-a-thon which had freaked me out. Huh.

It was a strange realization, that. But I'd always been pretty good at figuring out when I was overreacting to someone. You know, once I was done overreacting.

He only was gone for a couple minutes when he came jogging back in, a white paper bag in his hand. Grinning, he plopped it down on the counter in front of me. My blush came in full force right now.

"You didn't have to do that you know," I mumbled, torn between thinking it was sweet and a little too over protective of a total stranger. I tried to hand him the fiver to pay him back but he wouldn't take it.

"No, I didn't have to. But I wanted to." He shook his head fervently when I tried yet again to shove the money into his hand. "It's on me." He stepped back from the counter a little so I couldn't make him take it.

I scowled, finally relenting and started to put the money away. Then, right when he was off his guard and had stepped towards me again, I leaned forward across the counter and shoved the money into his front pocket. Ha! Take _that_!

I was smirking at him, arms crossed over my chest, feeling smug for besting him when I realized that I'd just shoved money into a guy's pant's pocket. What was he, a stripper? (Of course, he _probably_ wouldn't be wearing pants if he was a stripper.) I think I could have beaten a tomato in a redness contest. Where had that bold move come from?

Collin didn't seem pleased, but was obviously resigned to my giving him the money. "Are you going to eat or not?" he asked. Oh! Right. Foodage.

I opened up the bag to find three doughnuts and two cartons of milk. Obviously he had issues in math class. Maybe he looked so old because he was held back? I snickered at that thought, amused by the idea even if I knew it wasn't true.

Collin took my snicker the wrong way though.

"Is something wrong? Do you not like it?" and back with the worry face.

"No, just something I was thinking about." I pulled out the doughnut and bit into it, trying to suppress a moan of happiness. Best. Doughnut. Ever.

My expression was probably visible on my face, since Collin grinned at me. He leaned forward so his elbows were on the counter and his head in his hands. I didn't really think much about that though, being far more concerned with eating. I finished off the first doughnut and realized that I was glad he had gotten more then one. I polished off the second one as well before downing one of the small milk cartons to parch my now dry mouth. I almost didn't bother with the napkin, but I figured it'd be just a little weird to wipe my mouth with the back of my hand with a guy standing RIGHT THERE.

Speaking of right there… I finally realized just how close to me Collin was. If either of us leaned much farther forward we would knock our foreheads together. Which says a lot for how far forward he was leaning, and just how freaking short I am. Sure, my head was higher then his when he was bent over, but not by much. He is a giant, and I am a midget. A teeny tiny midgit.

I reached into the bag for the third and final doughnut. I'd like to say that I only decided to share with Collin because I was full. That I still thought he was creepy, and weird, and his behavior was mucho strange. I'd like to say that. But I couldn't.

He was kind of growing on me. Yay, self awareness?

I ripped the doughnut into two pieces and handed him the much bigger piece. What? I'm not Mother Theresa. I'm still hungry! And I did give him about 90% of the doughnut anyways.

"Here. You bought it, you should have some." I said, smiling at him just a little. Itty bit. Teeny tiny. Flea sized smile. (Because I'm so sure you'll believe that).

Collin looked like he wanted to protest, but I knew as well as he did that it was hard for any boy to resist food. He took it and shoved the whole thing into his mouth, his cheeks filling out to look like a puffer fish. I tried not to laugh, I really did, but it was really funny! I laughed so hard I had to grab my sides because they hurt so much. Over reactive laughter? Probably. But I tend to find a lot of stuff really funny, even if it wasn't funny at all.

He tried to look stern, but even he ended up grinning, while trying to chew and not open his mouth at the same time, which only made me laugh harder. Maybe that was his intent. I don't know. Probably was.

After a minute he finally swallowed and my laughter died down. I opened up the second milk carton and offered it to him, but he declined with a shake of his head. Shrugging, I took a sip.

I know, I know. What the heck is up with this total 180 on perception? Well let's see how well you can dislike a guy when he buys you two extra doughnuts you didn't even know you wanted. Yeah, I was still wary of him, but I figured giving him a chance would be okay.

But maybe, I thought as Collin crumpled up the bag for me and threw it into the trash can by the door, maybe it was something more. I couldn't _not_ like him, now that I'd given him a minute's worth of a chance. Now that my guard was down and I was mostly letting go of my creeper-perception of him. I didn't know why he had suddenly decided to be friendly to a total stranger, but did there need to be a reason? Was there ever? Maybe he could be my first ever guy friend. That'd be cool.

Yeah… Cool.


	4. Frankenstein VS Zombies

A/N: Hey hey guys! Sorry again for the delay, life has been totally nuts on my end of the internet. Work and room cleaning and parties and sunburns, oh my! And to top it all off, in just a few days I'm going on vacation to Portugal to get my brother- whom I haven't seen in TWO WHOLE YEARS! I'm so crazy excited though. So I decided to update today and then the day before I leave (the 15th, we'll be gone for 10 days). Hopefully I'll finally get over this writers block by the time I get back- thank goodness I made myself a buffer!

And thank you so much for all of your support guys! I love it when I get reviews and favs and alerts- I've even managed to get into TWO C2 groups- how wild is that? I'm really touched that people think my work is that good!

Oh, last thing, kind of important. I've noticed that a few of you guys mentioned in your reviews that Collin seemed like a bit of a creeper. I admit, I did sort of try and gear it so that his behavior would make Matty think that Collin was a creeper at first, but he really isn't! His concern towards her, and the fact that he's coming back every day is actually totally canon. In the fourth book in the series, Bella commented on the fact that the werewolves that imprinted rarely went a day without seeing said imprints. So actually, Collin isn't even being as bad as the other guys- he'll let a day or two pass whenever she has off work. And no, he doesn't stalk her at her house. Just FYI. And on with the show!

--

_Calling to say hi on your break  
In less than twenty words you made  
My whole damn day and  
Oh I just love you, oh I just love you_

(From "_I Just Do_" by Dear and the Headlights)

--

CHAPTER FOUR: Frankenstein VS Zombies

Every day for the next two and a half weeks that I worked, Collin would come and visit me. We'd kind of become friends, you know? I mean, yeah, I still had my blush and stutter attacks, but for some reason after the doughnut incident, they didn't happen so often around Collin. Maybe it was the puffer fish face? I hadn't the slightest clue. And I know it wasn't me having an emotional/mental breakthrough, because I still acted totally freaked around all of the other male customers.

It just felt right. Being friends with Collin I mean, not freaking out. I was just drawn to him. Tina would have said it was 'Destiny!' which I think is just a bunch of baloney. There's no such thing as destiny, or fate. You live your life, and stuff happens, and because so much happens during life things end up looking connected. Like it was all 'destiny!' Well, I'd rather make my own choices, thanks.

I was putting away some books in the children's section again, when I felt a pair of large, hot hands grab my shoulders as someone said "BOO!" right in my ear.

And I, being sound of mind and calm of spirit did the natural thing to do. Scream like the jumpy little girl I am and drop my books.

Collin laughed as I turned around and scowled at him.

"Jerk," I muttered as we both knelt down to pick up the fallen pile. Collin just grinned at me.

"Aw, you know you love me." He said, wiggling his eyebrows. I laughed, ignoring the fact that his comment made my ears turn a bright red. It was an improvement from a few weeks ago, that was for sure.

I had been right in thinking that Collin had wanted to be friends with me. And he was already a better friend to me then Tina ever was. Not that Tina was a bad friend- it's just that she had a LOT of friends, so she couldn't exactly hang out a lot. Plus, Collin always seemed to understand _exactly_ what I meant, even if I hadn't the slightest idea what it was that I was trying to say. (For example: "It was all like WHOOSH and WHOA and- and- and-" "Pretty much the coolest roller coaster you'd ever been on?" "Yes!") And he had somehow managed to find out more about me in the short time we'd had together then any of the friends I'd had for years knew. It was as easy as breathing. I didn't feel nervous around him (well, _as_ nervous). We spent my lunch breaks at whatever restaurant took our fancy, so we had a lot of time to talk.

He knew about my love for calligraphy, how I wanted to be an elementary school teacher, how DDR was the only sport I could be bothered to do even though I sucked at it. He knew my favorite foods (pizza, chex mix, and hot dogs), my favorite colors (lilac and amber), my just about favorite everything (not even going to bother). He knew about how I still sang along when I watched Disney movies (which I watched even when I wasn't babysitting. Mulan for the win, by the way). How I thought Frank Sinatra was freaking awesome. He even knew a few of the more personal things… Like how I had been teased a lot as a kid. And the fact that I was still terrified of the dark. And… Well, I don't really need to spill my guts here.

Of course, it's not like we just talked about me the whole time either. I' m not a narcissist! It was actually kind of funny the first time we decided to go out to eat during my break. We went to Subways and ate outside on a bench. I'd ask a question, he'd answer, and then he'd jump on asking me a question, but then I'd jump right back. It sounded like a double-sided interrogation to be honest.

He enjoyed listening to a wide range of stuff, mostly rock, like Weezer and Green Day and Queen. He spent most of his time on the reservation, hanging out with his gang of friends. The other guy who had come with him that first day, Brady, was his best friend, and they had been for several years. He wanted to be a photographer when he was older, and with good reason. He'd shown me a few of his pictures when I had expressed interest, and his photos were great. He'd even managed to snag a picture of one of the Olympic wolves from far away! It was one of his best pictures, in my humble opinion. He was an only child and lived with his mom and dad. His relationship with them was a strained at the moment, but he was trying to work on it. He really enjoyed playing basketball and used to be on the school team, but had to quit a few years back for reasons I was going to have to weasel out of him later. He liked playing DDR almost as much as I did, so we'd agreed to go to an arcade sometime in the near future. He has a strange fascination with PEZ dispensers and currently had about 29, and he always carried one around. It's pretty much his equivalent of gum. His favorite food was steak (and Pez, but I figure that's a little obvious), but he'd eat just about anything. He wasn't picky enough to have a favorite color, and when I asked what his favorite book was, he listed every single book he'd gotten when he visited the store.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention? For the first week he still tried to use the pretense of reading for the reason he came and ended up getting a book or two every day. It was actually kinda funny. He was really embarrassed and flustered when I recommended "The Night of My Demon Lover," as a joke. I thought it was hilarious, personally. If he was going to come in here and pretend to buy books, he was going to have to face in inevitable consequences. And lo and behold, he stopped buying books after that.

And then of course, there was the personality. He was _very_ funny, often cracking jokes like the total goofball he was. He ranged on sarcastic and jokingly arrogant, but I didn't mind. He was kind, and thoughtful to a fault. Not to mention had old-fashion manners, like holding open doors and pulling out chairs. That's always a plus (or so says Tina, who thinks we're magically going to hook up or something. As if).

Anyways. Long Friendship-with-Collin-centric tirade aside, and back to the present moment… With Collin. Guess that's not much of a new subject after all. Oh well.

"You're early today," I commented as he handed me the pile of books. I started tucking them into their respective spots, looking at Collin out of the corner of my eye. I frowned. He seemed taller today, if that was at all possible for his already mucho insane height. Or maybe I was shrinking.

Or maybe I'd just worn shoes with thinner bottoms then normal today. I checked- I was wearing my flats, not my sneakers. Bad Memory: 1 Me: 0.

But he _did_ still seem taller then he should have, shoes aside.

"Yeah, well… I had some spare time." He said with a shrug. He saw me struggling to put "Ducks Don't Like Toast" in it's spot and parted the books for me like it was the Red Sea. Book Moses. I snickered at my own lameness. Collin raised an eyebrow in question, but I just shook my head. No need for him to know what I was thinking.

We put a few more books away in silence, occasionally elbowing each other on "accident." Granted when I tried to elbow him I practically bruised myself. But he played along and acted like I had knocked him off balance anyways. He was nice like that.

A thought suddenly popped into my head. "Hey, Collin?"

"Hmm?" He turned to look at me, eyebrows raised in Collin-fashion, a tiny smile on his lips. I swear he has an entire eyebrow language. Shame I can't take a class for it.

"I'm just curious… Why do you always hang out with me? Like… Every day? I'm not objecting!" I added quickly, seeing a hurt look start to appear on his face. Aw man, I hope I hadn't hurt his feelings. I liked seeing him everyday. At first it had seemed creepy, but now it just seemed totally normal. And he was fun to be around- he made my days at the store interesting. "I was just wondering. I mean, what about Brady and Seth and- and all those other guys you hang out with?" Smooth save, self. Turning a lack of other names I could remember into just 'other guys.' Oh yeah, really, _really_ smooth.

Collin tugged another book out of my hands and tucked it away onto one of the higher shelves, silent. For a minute, I was worried I had offended him or something. I opened my mouth to apologize, but he started talking first, not looking at me.

"I still hang out with them, during the evenings and such. But … I like hanging out with you best." His tan skin hid the blush pretty well, but not well enough.

Was that cheesier then a block of swiss? Yes. Did I care? Not in the slightest. Did I have any idea how to react? Nope!

So I just let my blush do it's thing and smiled. I figured he'd get the picture. He always did. (Oh, haha, aren't I just pun-tastic today? Get it? Cause he's a photographer and- oh yes I KNOW. JEEZ.)

After that precious little Hallmark moment, things went along like they usually did. Collin would just hang out, helping me put back books, and we talked. Collin and I, well, we're deep thinkers. Together we were downright philosophical. Our current topic?

"Frankenstein doesn't even _count_ as a monster-" I sad hotly as I put the afore mentioned title into it's place.

"So? He could still go and crush villagers if he wanted to."

"But he _didn't_ want to, so it doesn't count."

"Well aren't you just picky."

"Why yes! Yes I am."

He poked my ribs, and I swatted his hand away.

"Well fine. If I don't get to use Frankenstein in my magic monster army then I get dibs on Zombies." He said smugly. I gasped in mock horror.

"Oh no! Not the some of the slowest moving undead things to ever crawl across the face of the planet!" I put my hands to my cheeks in a mockery of black and white actresses and their attempts at horrified expressions. Collin rolled his eyes.

"No, the kick-butt kind like in 'I Am Legend.'" His voice was exasperated. I wondered if he'd had this conversation before. I pushed my glasses up my nose, looking up at him.

"I've never actually seen that movie." I said with a shrug. He gasped, although if his horror was joking or serious I couldn't tell.

"You've never seen that movie? But it's _amazing_! And has Will Smith. I thought girls liked Will Smith." I couldn't help but notice the tiny grimace at that last part. Curious.

I shrugged at him again. "It's not a matter of that so much as I never had the time to just sit down and watch it."

Collin threw me a disbelieving look. "Oh, but you've had _plenty_ of time to knit that hat thing. And watch an entire afternoon of NCIS last week. And-"

"Okay, fine! I just haven't watched it yet." I said with exasperation. Collin smirked at my admitting it.

"Well I guess you'll just have to come over to my house tomorrow and watch it," he said.

"Well I guess I will!" I snapped without thinking. Collin grinned widely at me.

Wait, what?

He snickered at my expression. "I've been planning on having you over anyways. I mean- I've already met Tina and Wendy. Isn't it about time you met my friends?"

Well, I wasn't really _friends_ with Wendy, but I didn't need to point out my pathetic social life. He must have been able to see my reluctance (why the heck am I so easy to read? Is it working with books all the time? Do they rub off on my or something?) because he made his eyes go all big and Bambi-Eyes-like.

"Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?" he asked, his voice wheedling. If it was just the voice, I could have said no. Probably. But with the eyes… Those big dark liquid-y Bambi eyes. I groaned.

"Fine. But there better be some ice-cream with that cherry." I said. He pumped his fist in the air.

"Yessss!" I snickered at him. "Oh. I mean… Uh… Cool."

"Collin, I am afraid to say that you might need to work on your suaveness."

"Says the girl who couldn't even remember my friends names and totally failed at covering it up."

Collin: 1 Me: 0.

I rolled my eyes at him even as a blush heated up my face. "Well there are a lot of them you know. And I'm not exactly the best with names."

"I don't have trouble remembering."

"Well you actually _know_ them, I don't, dumb-dumb."

"Did you just call me a lollipop?"

I groaned, and he grinned at me.

Yeah, we're really philosophical.


	5. Where Did You Go?

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the delay with the update- I was going to post this before I left for Portugal, but then there was the new HP movie and packing and editing and WHOA. So here it is, a bit late. The next chapter is HUGE to make up for it though, and is almost finished being written. Huzzah huzzah for that. I'm not a super big fan of most of this chapter, though I do like the start. Bleh. I just feel like Matty is a bit… I dunno. Meh. But I couldn't fuss over it anymore- I promised you this chapter DAYS ago. So TA-DA.

(Also, Portugal is goooorgeous, and I'm having a crazy load of fun with my brother and family. I learned this great new card game as well, and might throw it into the story. And I saw a guy that looked almost EXACTLY like my mental Collin, but I didn't manage a picture. But in a more positive light, I'm working on an official soundtrack for this fic, which I will be posting on my livejournal when it's done. Okay, shutting up now)

--

_Where'd you go?_

_I miss you so,_

_Seems like it's been forever,_

_That you've been gone,_

_Please come back home_

_I want you to know it's a little (messed) up,_

_That I'm stuck here waitin', no longer debatin',_

_Tired of sittin' and hatin' and makin' these excuses,_

_For why you're not around, and feeling so useless,_

_It seems one thing has been true all along,_

_You don't really know what you've got 'til it's gone_

(From "_Where'd You Go?"_ by Fort Minor)

--

CHAPTER FIVE: Where Did You Go?

Well, it turns out I couldn't go over to his place that Friday to meet his friends since his parents were making him write his summer paper over the weekend to prevent a procrastination situation. It sounded a lot like Collin to put off putting something so large until the week before, so I got where his parents were coming from. Actually, it reminded me quite a bit of myself as well- I procrastinate _all_ the time. So we just rescheduled for the next Friday.

But it led me to some slightly disturbing questions... See, I know a lot of people are friends with those who are younger then themselves. But Collin was barely 16, and I was only a month away from being 19. To be honest, it kind of made me feel like a creeper. I don't know why. I mean, we're just friends, right? My cousin Sasha is best friends with someone who is five years younger then she is. I have no problem with that. Sasha never felt like a creeper (and yes, I did ask once). But for some reason, the fact that Collin was 3 years younger bothered me to no end. It was hard to remember that when he was around, considering that he looked like he was a good 4 years older then me, but when I was at home it came back to haunt me like some bad penny.

I tried to keep it from my mind though. It's not like we were dating or anything. HA! Even being older then he was, I got the feeling that Collin was _way_ out of my league. Not that I was interested- I'm really not. I'm just saying. For the record and all. Yeah.

In any case, life moved on as usual. I got Friday through Sunday off, apparently much to Collin's disappointment. I think he'd planned on hanging out on Friday morning, despite what his parents said. But I'd told him it was no big deal- we'd just hang out on Monday. After all, it wouldn't kill him. The look he gave me though certainly said that it would.

When I came in that Monday morning, I'd barely had more then five minutes at the register before Collin came rushing in. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw me, and then his usual big grin spread across his face like butter getting swiped over a new piece of toasted bread.

"What, did you expect me to die or something?" I'd asked him jokingly.

"With your spacey attitude, I wouldn't be surprised if you tripped off of a cliff," he'd teased, but the goofy smile on his face didn't quite reach his eyes. Which seemed pretty weird, for a guy making a joke. Had he really missed me that much? Or did he honestly think I'd be so dumb as to walk off of a cliff? He didn't need to be _that_ worried about me. I'm a big girl- I can tie my own shoelaces and everything.

We hung out like usual for the rest of the day. And like always, when he left he turned back and said "See you tomorrow!" And after the three weeks of utter consistency I believed him. Why should I doubt him? He'd pretty much become my best friend in less then a month.

But he never came on Tuesday.

When he wasn't there by noon, I started to get fidgety. He was usually there bright and early with an annoyingly cheerful grin on his morning person face. But I figured that maybe he'd over slept. By 4, I was getting anxious. He'd never been late before. What if something happened to him? Was there an accident?

I tried to calm myself down. Maybe something had come up with his family. I didn't have to assume the worst. I mean, he'd only not come to see me for _one day_. It wasn't the end of the world. And it wasn't like it was unusual for me to not see him for a day. Although now that I thought about it, that three day weekend was the longest we'd been apart since I'd met him. Usually we only went a day or two without seeing each other. But still! One day wasn't a big deal. I was just freaked out since he'd told me he'd come, and it's human nature to dislike a change in plans. That's all. End of story. I'd see him tomorrow.

But he didn't come Wednesday either. And when Thursday rolled around, there was still no sign of Collin.

I wish I could say I was calm and cool and collected. I wasn't though. I was pretty much an emotional wreck. If he hadn't even bothered to come by now, I only saw two options for why.

He no longer wanted to be friends.

Something horrible had happened to him.

Before I'd really gotten to know Collin, I would have said number one in a heartbeat rather then consider the option of an accident. Before he'd helped me come out of my shell just a little, I would have thought that number one was the most logical and likely explanation.

But… But there was something about Collin that really made me doubt number one. The fact that he spent most of his free time with me obviously meant that for some insane reason he found my company enjoyable, for starters. He didn't really strike me as the type to pretend to be friends with someone just to hurt them, so that reasoning for him not showing up was out. And the thing is, sometimes when he didn't think I was looking, he gave me that same dumbstruck stare he'd given me the first day. The really intense one. No one would give someone that look if they didn't like them. And there's no way that could be acted out.

And that left option number two. Needless to say, I did _not_ like option two. At ALL.

I tried not to think about what exactly might have happened to him, but I couldn't help it. Tripping off of one of the La Push cliffs, getting in a car wreck, being at a store at the wrong time and getting caught in the middle of a robbery, a random mugging-

But I would have heard about something like that happening, right? But I couldn't stop that horrible gnawing sensation in my gut whenever I thought about it.

By the time Friday came, I was a wreck. I hadn't slept well for the past two nights and I couldn't sit still. I'd had it. I wanted answers, and I wanted them _now_. If he didn't turn up today then I didn't care how awkward it would be for me. I was going to drive to La Push in my beige Chevy Impala and knock on every door if I had to. (Well, maybe every other door. Every door would take a while and seriously tax my social abilities.) La Push couldn't be that big- _somebody_ had to know where Collin lived, or what had happened to him. It's not like someone of his height and ripped-ness could go unnoticed anyways.

I had to know. I don't know why his absence was affecting me so much. It shouldn't be _such_ a big deal. But it was. I needed to know what had happened.

"Matty!" I glanced up from my staring spot (a dark smudge on the register counter) and up at Tina.

"Mmm?" I semi-hummed, letting her know I was listening.

"I know you're worried, but would you please _stop drumming your fingers on the counter?!_" She hissed. I blinked, and then stilled my hand.

"Sorry," I muttered. I hadn't even realized what I had been doing until she mentioned it. I am so out of it!

"It's okay," she said with a sigh. "I understand that you're worried about him. Just, _try_ not to be so fidgety, okay? It's really irritating."

"Sure. I'll try."

Tina threw me a sympathetic look before she disappeared back into the aisles.

I didn't want her sympathy. I just wanted to know if Collin was okay.

The morning passed, and thankfully only a few customers came in. I was in such a zombie-like-state that even working on auto-pilot was barely pulling me through. I nearly had a breakdown when the red-haired girl from a week or two ago tried to buy Godless. I mean, really, there must be several thousand different books in the store. Did she really have to pick _that_ one? Today of all days? Seriously? Does Life have no tact to speak of?

Noon came, and passed. I had requested to get off early today so that I could make the drive to La Push and still make it back before it got too late. Tina yelled at me a couple more times about drumming my fingers and tapping my feet.

Did that clock always go so slowly? I kept on glancing back at it. I squinted. Did the minute hand just go backwards?

Finally I couldn't take another second of sitting still and talked Tina into switching with me so I was stacking books instead. It kept me moving and it kept me from staring at the clock for too long. I didn't know how much more of the madness I could take. This wasn't Sparta, you know.

The bell chimed as someone came in. But I couldn't look. I knew it wouldn't be Collin. I knew that I'd just be disappointed if it wasn't him. I couldn't look. I couldn't, I couldn't, I couldn't-

Oh to hell with it. I looked.

It was a dumpy old woman in a straw hat. Most assuredly _not_ Collin.

I felt my heart sink and turned back to the shelves.

I heard Tina talking to someone. Probably the old woman about books on cats or something. I wish it would just be time for me to leave already. I couldn't stand being here for much longer.

I heard someone walking towards me. Couldn't have been the dumpy lady- too heavy and quick. I hadn't heard the door open since, so they must have come in right behind Lady Dumpy.

I shoved another book into the shelf, probably with more force then really needed. I heard it slam against the wood backing of the bookcase.

"Ouch. What did that book ever do to you?"

Looking back on that moment, I _really_ should have seen it coming.

I shoved the last book onto the shelf before I whipped around. There he was, standing there in his tall tan glory, looking at me the same way that he had the first time we'd met. I wasn't going to get all goo-goo eyed and blushy about that though. Not this time. Because right now, I was feeling as pissed off as a lion who'd just had it's favorite chew toy taken away. Not that lions had chew toys, but that's beside the point.

"You've got a lot of nerve," I hissed at him. "Showing up like this after three days of totally ignoring me."

"Matty, I am so sorry-" he began, but I cut him off.

"Save it."

"Please, I can explain-"

"I don't want to hear it right now."

Because right now, I was _so_ relieved, _so_ happy that he was okay that I was actually furious with him. He was fine- so why hadn't he come?! He was clearly totally uninjured so he CLREARLY could have come. What right did he have to make me worry like this?! No right, that's what. He's my friend, and friends don't hurt friends.

I wiped away a tear quickly before it could fall down my cheek. I hate the fact that I cry when I'm really emotional- happy, sad, angry, you name it. It's kind of like have a leaky faucet for a face. It's not even as _attractive_ as a faucet, since my skin gets all red and blotchy and my nose runs and it's just AWFUL.

"Matty…" He reached out towards me, but I stepped away and turned my back to him.

"Go away. I don't want to talk to you right now." I muttered.

There was a pause. "Do you really mean that?" he asked. I sniffled.

"No." I said thickly. My throat was constricting. "No, I don't." I turned back towards him and rushed into his arms. He held me tightly against his chest as I sobbed.

"You're such a-an ass!" I wailed. "I was s-so w-worried about y-you!"

"I know, and I'm so sorry Matty. I am so, so, sorry. I didn't mean to worry you like that. Some things… Came up at the rez. I couldn't leave." He tightened his grip and leaned down to kiss the top of my head. My stomach fluttered with butterflies for some weird reason, but I ignored the sensation.

"Well you sh-should have c-called me! I didn't k-know where you wh-where and you-you said you wh-where going to c-come and I thought th-there was an accident-" I sobbed again. I am such a cry-baby. Just give me a security blanket and send me off to nap time. Seriously, Matty, way to act like an adult about this. Sure, go ahead and act all irrational and then start bawling in his arms like a damsel in distress. I am such an idiot.

I felt his shoulders shake with his chuckle. "But I don't have your number." He teased.

"Yeah, well-" I floundered for words. I came up with nothing. Zip, zero, zilch, goose egg, nada, no nachos. I buried my face into his chest. "You suck." I muttered, glaring at his navy shirt (which was a little darker where my face had been. Ha. Serves him right for making me cry).

Collin snickered. "Sorry hun, I don't swing that way." I made a face. Collin could be such a jerk. A funny jerk, but still a jerk.

"I d-didn't mean it like that and you kn-know it." I felt him shrug again.

"You're too easy to tease."

"Or y-you're just a pervert."

"Well that too."

We laughed, and the tension was broken. How was it that he always knew exactly what to say to make me feel better? It's like he could read my mind. I shook my head at the thought. That would be way creepy if he could. I stepped out of his arms and wiped away a few more tears, still sniffling a little. My voice was kind of shaky too, but it would pass soon. Maybe. Hopefully.

"When do you get off of work today?" Collin asked. I wondered briefly if he was actually curious or just trying to change the subject in the hopes of getting me to stop crying. "If you're still up for it, I'd really like for you to meet my friends and chill at my house for a while. But only if you're still up for it." He added quickly.

I nodded. "Yeah, sorry about th-the waterworks. I always get like this when I'm a bit emotional. It really stinks since even th-though I'm feeling calm I'm still a-acting up." I laughed. "And yes, I'd love to hang out."

"Don't worry about it, it's fine." Collin said with an understanding smile. "But that doesn't answer my question."

I blinked, and then glanced at the clock. "Umm… 12:45 so that's…10 minutes."

"Okay, cool. You request to get off early today or something?" he asked, curious. Normally I get off around 4:30. A bit of a long work day, I know. I usually felt dead on my feet when I got there at 8:30 and _was_ dead on my feet when I left at said 4:30. Actually, besides this one kid named Ryan who NEVER shows up, Wendy, Tina, two girls and a guy I've never met since they work weekends and night shifts, the actual shop owner and I are the only people who work there. And the actual owner is never there. Keeps us busy and on our toes, you know?

I nodded as I felt a blush creep up my face again. "Yeah… I was um… Going to drive up to La Push today anyways." I muttered. "Just to get some answers." I glanced up at him to see that he looked surprised, but very pleased. Ecstatic, even. Which then turned into a very, very smug grin. "But don't get any ideas!" I said quickly. "You and your giant ego…" I rolled my eyes as his grin widened.

"You know you miiiiissed me-" he said in a sing-song voice. "You know you looooooove me. You think I'm aweeeesome. You-"

"Oh, shut up!" I snapped. His only answer was to start laughing at me. I rolled my eyes again and muttered about stupid teenage boys under my breath. His only response was to laugh harder. I swear, he was so egotistical! This wasn't the first time either. Always saying how awesome he was and how much I 'wanted him.' HA! In his _dreams_!


	6. Traffic Laws are Really Just Suggestions

A/N: Ahh! I am so, so, SO sorry you guys! I know I promised to have this done WEEKS ago, but life has once again gotten in the way. I've been spending some rare quality time with friends and family, shopping for school, packing, cleaning out my room, etc etc. Now that I'm staying at my aunt's for a couple weeks before I go up to Idaho for college I've finally found a small piece of time to finish this chapter. I think it's the longest chapter so far- eleven pages! I'm hoping to have another chapter done before I go to college, but no promises. In the meantime, enjoy this chapter. It's not my best, but it's done, finally!

And to answer a few questions… This takes places three years after the last book in the Twilight series, Matty is actually 18 not 19 (but her birthday is in a couple months, so it's sort of a moot point), and those three days where Collin vanished WILL be explained but not until much later in the story. I'd also like to thank those of you who have managed to find and point out my grammatical errors- I'll be going back and updating corrected versions in the very near future. Without further ado, the story!

--

_When you make new friends in a brand new town  
And you start to think about settlin' down  
The things that would have been lost on you  
Are now clear as a bell  
And you find yourself  
Yeah, that's when you find yourself_

(From "_Find Yourself_," by Brad Paisley)

--

CHAPTER SIX: Traffic Laws are Really Just Suggestions

"Left or right?" I asked quickly.

"Left," Collin squeaked. I nodded and jerked the wheel, totally missing the fact that there was a stop sign. Or, not really _missing_ it, but… _Conveniently_ ignoring the fact that it existed. It was almost the same thing, really.

"I still cannot _believe_ that you just went ahead and _decided_ that you and your friends were going to have a barbeque for me and then didn't tell me until we were halfway there!" I grumbled as I barely made it through a stoplight.

"Matty, you would please SLOW DOWN?!" Collin asked as he held onto the handle in the ceiling like it was his only lifeline. Oh please, I was only going 15 miles over the speed limit! It's not like I was going to crash or something- I did this a lot when I was in a hurry. Which, due to my bad skills at keeping track of time, was a lot.

"No way!" I said. "I don't want to be late and make a bad impression!"

"I promise they won't think any less of you for being late! I didn't even give them a time for when we'd be there! Please Matty!" I saw him glance at me out of the corner of my eye, his expression pleading. I shook my head.

"No way! And how would you know how they'll really react? I mean, it's not like you can read their minds or something!" I sped up for a moment to get around an older woman who was driving reaaaallllyyyyy slow. I'm talking I'm the hare and she's the tortoise, but without her winning the race.

Collin laughed. "Trust me, I know the way they think better then you may realize." He grinned widely, as though at some sort of inside joke. He did that a lot.

I just shook my head. "Be that as it may-" I'd always wanted to say that, it sounded so cool- "I'm not slowing down."

"This is ridiculous Ma- TURN RIGHT!" I spun the wheel quickly, narrowly avoiding a very fancy black car that looked a bit out of odds in Forks. I took a brief moment to ignore Collin's screeching and wonder why such a fancy car was in this tiny town. Oh! Maybe it belonged to a drug dealer that secretly grew weed in the woods! The thought amused me for a moment before Collin's voice broke into my brain. "Please Matty! I don't want you to get in a wreck!" Note the fact he said 'you,' not 'us.' As in he wasn't at all worried about himself. It wasn't the first time I'd caught such a wording. I swear that kid had a death wish or something. I mean really, cliff diving? _CLIFF_ DIVING? That's pretty much just relabeling attempting suicide as something prettier to get participants! He'd shown me a video one of his friends posted of them diving on YouTube. It was one of the freaking highest cliffs I'd ever seen (not that I'd seen many, but not the point) and they'd just jumped off as though it were the edge of the pool!

Oh! That's another thing about Collin that I'd found out. He likes to make all the stupid and dangerous things he does sound all pretty and flowery and Not-Dangerous. Like motorcross, which he does with his friend Embry sometimes. Okay, I'm not going to try and pretend I know anything about motorcross, but it _sounds_ dangerous. And they have to wear helmets! But Collin had admitted to not wearing one. Said he was a "fast healer" and junk. HAH! I don't care if you're the freaking Govonator of California; you wear a seatbelt when you drive and a helmet when you bike. End of story.

"-and that's when I flew to the moon and made the first ever holographic porn site." Said Collin with an exasperated tone. Opps. I guess I got lost in thought about Collin…'s dumb actions. HIS dumb actions, not him. And in doing so had completely missed what he was saying.

"Say what?" I asked as I made another turn. "I mean, I knew you were a pervert but WOW." I smirked at him and we laughed.

"A little lost in thought there are we?" he teased.

"Blah blah blah." I muttered. "Don't we have a party to go to?" I asked. He rolled his eyes.

"Yes, and as I was _trying_ to tell you before, you missed the turn." He smirked at me as I scowled and started to look for a place to turn around to do a course correction. "Of course, someone was a little caught up in her thoughts." His smirk widened. "Thinking of how devastatingly attractive I am? Don't worry- I can handle praise."

It might have been funnier if I hadn't actually been thinking of him. I decided not to let him in on that little bit though. And in any cause I hadn't been thinking about how hot Collin may or may not be- I was complaining. There is a difference. Just because the basic subject was the same meant NOTHING. Nothing at all. Zip, zero, zilch, goose egg, nada, no nachos.

"_Actually_," I started to lie eloquently (if I do say so myself), "I was thinking more along the lines of how your friends will react to me." I frowned, since it was a legit concern for me. I wanted Collin's friends to like me. He'd told me a lot about them, and they seemed like a cool group. I just hoped I wouldn't embarrass myself in front of them with the blushing and stuff. Most of them were boys after all.

Unexpectedly, Collin reached over and gave my knee a light squeeze, causing my foot to jerk off of the gas for a second. I mean, I told him not to ever touch my hands when I was driving since I needed to keep them on the wheel, but I didn't think as to what he'd touch _instead_. … That sounds so dirty.

"Trust me, they'll love you." He said. He grinned again. "In fact, I've been talking about you so much they feel like they've already met you." Collin snickered. I was not feeling so lighthearted.

"You… What?" I glanced over at him nervously. Was he serious? No, he couldn't be serious. Could he? I glanced at him again and mentally groaned. Of course he meant it. "But now they'll have expectations and then I won't live up to them and then they'll-"

"Shush! I will hear no more nonsense words out of you woman! Now shut up and drive!"

"But-"

"No!"

"I don't think-"

"Then don't talk."

I glared at him. His dark eyes twinkled back at me with repressed laughter. In retaliation I pressed down harder on the gas pedal. Ha! Take that Collin!

But he refused to be cowed by me (darn male pride) and just grinned at me. That accursed boy could read me like a book. He knew there must be a limit to my speeding- I was too much of a worry-wort to let my love of speed have too much control over what I did. I sighed and eased up a little.

"I knew I'd win." Collin said.

"Did not." I snapped, although without any real malice.

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

And so our argument went for much of the ride to the beach in La Push.

But the odd thing was, he kept his hand on my knee the whole rest of the way there. And for some reason, it made my ability to concentrate on driving a little harder then it should have.

--

"Wow." I, for one, was rather impressed with our final destination. It was this gorgeous beach, although of the rocky type as opposed to the more commonly thought of sand kind. I didn't mind though. The rocks were beautiful in their strange shades of greys and browns- all tinted with overlays of greens and blues and purples and just all sorts of colors that one doesn't normally see in rocks. Bone white trees littered the area like a giant had decided to play 'Pick-Up-Sticks" and then forgotten or found something more interesting- like carving out the cliffs that spread out on the far side of the beach, rising up so steeply it was a wonder anyone could get up there. Farther down on the other side of the beach I could see a group of people gathered around a large fire, talking and laughing and generally enjoying life.

Unlike them I suddenly was _not_ enjoying life. Fear ripped at my stomach. Oh dear lord. What if they didn't like me? What if I did something stupid, like trip over a rock and break my face open? What if I said something dumb? What if I couldn't even _say_ anything to them? What if-

Collin whacked the back of my head. "Ouch!" I grabbed rubbed my aching skull. "What was that for?" I snapped.

"I could practically hear your nervous brain chatter. Stop it at once or I'll hit you again." Collin said with an evil smirk. I glared at him for a long moment before turning away. He was a much better glarer/stare-er then I am and I had no desire to end up in a staring contest (that he would probably win and gloat about later. Darn prick).

"Ooooohhhh! I'm going to get you for this later Collin, mark my words!" I muttered under my breath as I reluctantly began to walk towards the people veerrryyyyy slowly. Slow like the old lady I'd passed up slow.

"Consider the marked." He said. I could practically _hear_ his smirk grow. I knew he expected me to whack his arm as usual, and I am not one to disappoint a friend. I regretted the action at once though and rubbed my now aching fingers with my unhurt hand.

"I keep forgetting you're partially made of concrete."

I mean _really_! How on earth does he end up being so… Concrete like! Forgive the repetitiveness of my statement, but it's true! Every time I try and hit him I just end up bruising myself. And I'm not even that prone to bruising! Sometimes I can't help but wonder if the kid takes steroids or something. It'd help explain why he quit basketball… But then again he didn't seem the type. I shook my head. Now really wasn't the time to consider such things. I had more important things to worry about.

Like the fact that Collin had grabbed my elbow without me noticing and made me walk much faster then I had intended over to the bonfire. So quickly in fact that in the time it took for me to muse about steroids and Collin possibly taking them we'd already come within hearing range of the group of people around the fire.

Curse Collin to hell.

"Oy! Collin! What took you so long?" called one of the guys. I blushed. I knew it! I knew I was going to be late! I swear I was going to give Collin such a talking to he'd begin to think I was his mother! Granted I'd be far too young to be his mother, but oh would that boy rue the day he crossed me! He would remember well the revenge I would have! Forget getting back at Tina- I'm using all of those cans of Silly String on _him_. And the glue. And the hair dye. Particularly the hot pink and neon/snot green. Hah. Hah hah hah. Ah-hah HAH hah hah. You can't hear it, but I've got an amazing inner evil laughter. Really diabolical here. Just try and imagine it, okay?

Collin, forever the self-absorbed jerk, just laughed and ignored my distress (and thankfully he also ignore my evil plotting). Jerk, jerk, JERK. How could he laugh? He knew I was freaked out about this whole thing! But noooo. He put his arm around my shoulders and called back, "Like you're one to talk Paul! As I recall you didn't even make it last week!"

The person that I now assumed to be Paul scowled at Collin, but made no other comment. Thank goodness for that. I tried to resist as Collin led me over to the group, but it was really rather useless to try. A lot like trying to resist a tank pushing you down the road when you are tied to said tank, in fact. Our feet crunched against the rocks, and we slid down the rocks in a few places. Collin seemed to know the best places to go to keep from slipping though, and he kept a good grip around my shoulders to prevent me from fall flat on my face or twisting my ankle. He may be a jerk, but at least he's a gentlemanly jerk.

As we walked a woman in her mid-twenties picked her way over to meet us. Collin squeezed my shoulder, and I knew without looking at her face that this must be Emily. He'd told me on the way here, and had warned me not to stare. He told me how her face was really scarred, and so I had been expecting it but… Lord. I didn't think it would be so heartbreaking. Half of her face was gorgeous- beyond stunning, even. But the other half… The contrast between the perfect smile and perfect skin with the twisted grimace and scarred eye and cheek… It was so sad. I don't mean it in a demeaning or a pitying way. It was just sad that anything like that should be forced into a person's life. Thank goodness Sam (I think Collin said it was Sam) had been there to keep anything worse from happening when that bear attacked her.

"Hi!" said Emily with a huge smile. Before I knew it, she had wrapped me into a tight and motherly hug that screamed 'WELCOME TO THE FAMILY.' For a second I just stood there before putting my arms around her as well. "You must be Matty. It's so nice to meet you at last!" she released me and stepped back to get a good look at me. I squirmed a little, hoping I met her expectations. It's kind of like how I imagine people on American Idol feel in front of the judges. I think Emily is a fair bit nicer then Simon is though. And less judgmental. And younger. And less British. "Collin here has told us so much about you." She threw Collin an amused look. I however, was slipping farther and farther into 'not amused with Collin.'

"Has he now?" I said with a somewhat strained grin as I threw Collin what I hoped to be a subtle glare. He winced. He got it. I looked back to Emily and felt my smile turn into a real one, albeit nervous. "Well, I hope it was nice things. If they weren't, I swear they aren't true."

Emily laughed- a lilting thing like a bird's song. Dang! Why can't I sound like that when I laugh? I always have to be careful that I don't snort when I laugh. Not fair AT ALL. "Don't worry, it's only good things. And if it makes you feel better, I could always tell you a few stories about when I babysat for Collin when he was younger." She grinned conspiratorially at me, and I felt the nervousness go away.

"That sounds wonderful."

Collin didn't agree.

"That sounds like a bad idea to me." He grumbled. We ignored him. I like ignoring him. I think it's hilarious, to be totally honest, because he always pouts. Well, I think it's hilarious until I get a good look at his sad pouting face, and then I feel a bit bad. But I didn't look and he _did_ deserve it, so I didn't feel that bad this time.

So let's move on, shall we?

Emily looped her arm through mine and we stalked off without Collin, who trailed behind us, muttering under his breath. Ha ha. Serves him right, the git. Doesn't tell me about the bonfire, talks about me to his friends so they have high expectations, ignores the fact that I was totally freaked out. Pah!

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Emily Uley." She nodded over to one of the taller guys, who was looking over at us (or rather Emily) with a smile on his face. "That's my husband, Sam." She admitted with a shy smile.

That. Is. So. Cute. Okay, I'm sorry, I know I'm younger then they are, but just from the way that he's looking at her and she's looking back, I can tell that they are probably TOTALLY adorable together. I mean, it's hard to describe in written word, but the way she said '_That's my husband, Sam.'_ Wow. I wish I could emphasize it properly, but I can't. So just imagine, alright? I really, really hope that someday I can say that about someone the way she said it. Heck- if I could say it with even half of the feeling that Emily put into that sentence, I know I'm going to have it good.

As we neared the bonfire I felt myself freezing up. Oh man oh man. There were so many guys! There had to be about… Jeez, a good 12 guys there (plus some girls, but girls don't make me freak out)! And to top it off these are Collin's friends! I want them to think I'm cool, because… Because I really want to be friends with them too. Because I want them to like me. That was a strange thought. I didn't usually see people and think 'wow, I want for that kid to like me.' I'm not exactly a very social person. But I wanted- no, I _needed_ for them to like me. I _needed_ to be friends with them.

Damn it Collin- what have you _done_ to me!? Because clearly this sudden change in my behavior is his fault. He's changed me. I didn't like being social before I met him and became friends with him, and now I do. I used to be fine doing nothing but working and then reading or watching TV at home before sleeping and going back to work. But now… It's like… Ug! It's like I _need_ to be social! Need, need, need. Is that all I can think about now?!

We were almost there now. Emily unlooped her arm from mine and practically skipped over to Sam, leaving me totally alone. I took a deep breath. Okay, I can do this. I can do this. I can so totally do this.

I looked at the group of people- 10 guys and about 7 girls, nearly all of whom were staring… Right. At. Me.

I wanna die, I wanna die, I wanna diiiieeeeeeee.

Then Collin- whom I had _totally_ forgotten- put his arm around my shoulders (no easy feat with the height difference) and said, "Matty, these are all of my friends. All of my friends, Matty." I could practically hear the huge grin in his voice. I'm sure he thought he was being very clever and funny. (And of course, I thought he was too. But shhh! Don't tell him I think he is- he'll get a huge ego from it.) His presence and attempt at humor helped to calm me down, at least a little. Itty bit. Teeny tiny. Flea sized.

Sam rolled his eyes at Collin's antics and stepped forward, his arm outstretched. I reached out as well (I really hope that he couldn't see that my arm was trembling) and shook his hand. His skin was just as blazing hot as Collin's, and he had a firm grip. I glanced up at his face, and there was something about him… The confidence in his eyes maybe? Or perhaps it was his nose. That's a very noble nose that Sam's got. Or maybe it was the way he stood- taller and prouder then the other guys. At any rate, there was something about Sam that made me feel very much like I was greeting a king or an emperor. A leader. Someone I should most certainly Not Mess With or else Bad Things Would Happen. But he smiled- a big dazzle-white welcoming grin. Clearly Bad Things weren't going to happen to me.

"Nice to finally meet you, Matty." He said. Even his voice was commanding! That was a voice that could lay down the LAW, and it would be OBEYED. End of story. Suddenly I felt very glad that I was so nervous and could say so little, because that meant I would be less likely to say something stupid and make him mad at me. He seemed to like me well enough at the moment, and I'd like to keep it that way.

"Likewise." I said in a half whisper, my mouth trying to imitate the warm smile he had given me. Don't quite think it worked, but hey, I tried, right? Even if it is more like a grimace. Oh well.

And then suddenly I was being introduced to a whole slew of people- Embry, Seth, Quil, a little girl named Claire, Jared, Kim, Leah, Brady, Jacob, Nessie, and what seemed like over half a dozen others- I was getting a headache trying to keep them all straight! There were just so many of them! It was a freaking flash mob of people! And the guys all looked so similar, it was almost like walking through some creepy sci-fi cloning movie with crappy special effects and an utterly unknown director. But no, that wasn't right, exactly… They were all a _bit_ different. Sam had the 'Noble Leader' thing, as already said. Seth… He was the one with the huge grin. He'd outright hugged me when we were introduced (which Collin wasn't too pleased with for some reason). Embry was a little taller then the others and seemed a tad shy. Paul seemed a bit tense… And I couldn't really remember any of the others. Drat. Need to work on that, I think. They just told me their names not five minutes ago, and I've already forgotten half of them. What a lovely impression I'm going to make. Can't even remember more then four names (plus Claire, but that's just 'cause she's so little).

Anyways, by now half of the guys were gathered around the bonfire again, sitting on logs and large rocks, pull out hangers and packets of hotdogs out of various bags, duffles, and backpacks.

I was about to ask Collin what on earth the hangers were for when he handed me one before grabbing his own and bending- or rather unbending it- so that it was as straight as a poker. I felt the concept of my own stupidity washing over me. Duh- they were going to cook the hot dogs over the fire! I almost wanted to hit myself on the forehead, but since that would show that I had just realized what the hot dogs were for and therefore my stupidity, I didn't. Instead I just attempted to unbend the hanger myself, but I didn't get it as nearly as straight as Collin did- or any of the others for that matter. Curse my stick arms.

Collin tugged the thick wire out of my hands and bent it for me, as well as shoving a thick hot dog onto the end of it for me before handing it back.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Collin sat down next to Embry on an otherwise empty log near the fire but out of the smoke. I sat next to him, though a bit away. It was still warm outside, plus Collin's body heat and the fire made for a very toasty me. And personally, I'd much rather cook the food, thanks. I doubt I taste very good.

Embry leaned over so he could look at me, a large grin on his face. "So I hear you're a bit of a speed-demon." I glanced over at Collin and gave him a kick. He couldn't have told Embry before today, since he had never been in the car with me before that afternoon. And _that_ meant that he must have told Embry as I was walking over to the log, or while people were introducing themselves to me. I swear he gossips like an old woman! A teeny tiny old woman made of wrinkles and who dresses in flower print skirts!

I glanced over at Embry and tried to smile. "Yeah well… He didn't tell me you guys were planning a bonfire until the last minute, so if I hadn't we would have been very late."

Embry raised his eyebrows. "He did fail to mention that part." He said, sending Collin an amused look. Collin was looking a bit regretful of taking the seat next to Embry, or perhaps he looked regretful over the spilling the beans on both our parts, or maybe he was just sad about the fact that his hot dog had caught on fire, and now rather resembled charcoal. He gave it to one of his friends, who apparently enjoyed eating charcoal, and took another hot dog to cook.

"So- Embry!" Collin said in an overly cheerful voice as he tried desperately to change the subject to something other then him. "How is uh… How's your mom! Yeah, how is she?"

Embry didn't buy it. "My mom is fine- you should know, you saw her yesterday at the store." Ohh, burn.

Collin grinned. "Quite right my friend, quite right."

I rolled my eyes. Classic Collin, trying to fix things and then failing epicly. But I guess that's why I like him. I mean, like a friend. I don't _like_ him like, so don't get the wrong idea. Friends. Cool awesome best friends. That hang out almost everyday exclusively with each other. Nothing going on here. At all.

Anyways.

By the time I had shaken myself out of my thoughts, I realized that half the people in the circle were staring at me. Crap.

"Umm… Sorry, I zoned out. What?"

One of the guys snickered, making me blush. A young girl that I'd guess to be about 12 or so rolled her eyes at the boy before turning to me and answering my question. "Jacob asked if you were having a good time," she said. Her voice was insanely melodic, and now that I was really looking at her… She was a lot prettier then ANY person had a right to be at her age. What the heck was up with these people and having physical impossibilities? First we've got Collin who looks like twenty, then we've got all of his friends who are tall and buff, and now there's a prepubescent girl who could make Tyra Banks feel ugly. Said pre-pubescent girl gave a small nod at the much older guy next to her with a small kind smile. Clearly she knew I wouldn't remember who Jacob was, and I was grateful for the hint. I turned to him before finally responding to his question.

"Yeah, actually, I am." I said with yet another twitchy smile, slightly surprised that I was enjoying myself. Normally being around so many people would have me spazzing out like the freak I am, but it wasn't tonight. I still blame Collin for that.

Jacob (he grinned back when I answered, so I knew it was Jacob) nodded. "Glad to hear it." I'm glad to hear he was glad to hear it. Much rather that then have him wish I was having a horrid time.

The conversation moved on and I was no longer in the spotlight. I immediately relaxed, letting out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding. Collin slung his arm around my shoulders and leaned his head down closer to my ear so he wouldn't have to speak too loudly.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" he teased, squeezing me a little closer to him. Whyyy was his body temperature so high? I was already starting to sweat, especially since it was combined with the heat from the bonfire. I edged away from him a little in an attempt to get away from the heat.

"Yes." I deadpanned. Collin just laughed, a deep hearty thing that I could feel reverberating in my own chest. It felt nice, and got me laughing as well, though mine didn't sound nearly so nice.

"So… Are you really enjoying yourself?" he asked after a moment, sounding a bit nervous. I resisted the urge to giggle at him. Not gonna lie, he was pretty adorable when he was nervous. I almost wish he would let me know when he was nervous more often- he usually tries to cover that sort of stuff up in his usual 'manly man' style, which usually involves a lot of bravado and joking.

Instead I just grinned at him and said, "Yes, I really am. This is a cool group of friends you've got here." I glanced around, watching as a couple of his friends tried to toss bits of hotdog at each other. "A bit different," I added, "but that's not a bad thing."

His responding smile was… Nothing short of dazzling. It looked like his head was just going to split in half it was so wide. I didn't even know it was possible to look so happy. "Good." He said firmly, like we'd settled some sort of business arrangement. No idea what it involved, but I guess whatever it was, it was settled.

The rest of the night went really well. I mostly stayed quiet while Collin joined in on several arguments and conversations (a couple which were running at the same time, which really confused me, but Collin seemed to be able to keep up for the most part) but I did throw in a few comments here in there when I felt I had something worthwhile to add. It was actually probably the most social I've ever been with a group of virtual strangers. Ever. And for me, that was really something. I even managed to have a short conversation with Embry about the differences between the Lord of the Rings books and movies and which was better! Collin looked a bit lost there, so he just ended up talking with someone else, but I saw him glancing over at me a lot. I mean, _really_ Collin. Maybe if it had just been out of the corner of his eye I wouldn't have, but when one turns one's whole head, it's kind of obvious.

He's such a loser. But he's my loser friend, so I guess I'll just deal with it.

The bonfire didn't end until well after midnight and I was dead on my feet (well, butt, since technically I was sitting at this point). I had ended up just leaning against Collin and not caring that I was boiling because he made the best pillow blanket combo ever.

Collin nudged me gently, trying to wake me up. I must admit, it is a daunting task. "Hey, it's over. Everyone is vacating the area… You can stop drooling on my second favorite shirt now."

"Nonsense." I muttered, sleep garbling my words. "I thought the blue one was your second favorite."

"It got bleach on it, so now it looks weird and nasty. Anyways, that doesn't stop the bonfire from being over. You have to get up now." He nudged me again. And again. And again until finally I decided that having my head bounce on his shoulder was not comfortable at all.

I groaned but finally complied, rubbing my eyes. "Jeez… What time is it?" I made a face- my breath tasted funny. Like post-nap funny. Note to self- get some gum.

Collin glanced at his watch. "1:18… No, 1:19, sorry. It just changed." He glanced over at me, still wobbling and rubbing my eyes. His face grew worried, a small crease appearing between his eyebrows. "Are you going to be okay to drive?"

"Not at all, but I have to." I said, getting to my feet. "Do you have any water I could poor over my face or something to help me be more awake?"

"Yes, but I'm not letting you drive anywhere like this. You'll get in a crash and kill yourself, and then what on earth would I do with all that free time I'd suddenly have?" He stood up as well, stretching his arms over his head. He put them down and then looked at me for a long moment, a very serious expression on his face.

Well _that_ can't be good.

"How about instead of driving home tonight… You stay at my place."

I wouldn't know until later just how right I was.


End file.
